Kara Sevda
by BooksAndWarmSocks
Summary: In Turkish, Kara Sevda means blinding love. James Potter and Lily Evans are both heirs to each other's rival businesses. Fate brings them together one day in a London Pub and all of a sudden, they find themselves spending more and more time with each other. Neither are sure what they mean to the other.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So I've put a lot of thought and effort into this and I've literally sacrificed sleep so I really hope you enjoy it! This is my first fic so make sure you leave a review to help me work on my writing! Rate and Review!

* * *

She was running. She was crying. She was spiralling.

The cool London air whipped her fiery red tendrils as she raced her way to the terminal. His terminal.

She tasted more saltine tears. The guilt gnawing at her insides combined with her exhaustion was drowning her. _He_ was drowning her. He was slowly killing her, body part by body part the further he went away from her.

It was her fault. All her fault.

She came to a halt at the terminal. Her emerald eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar head of messy black hair. His tanned skin, his lanky body, his slightly crooked nose. Lily wasn't sure what exactly she was listing anymore.

She was searching, searching, when she zeroed in on the head of hair she had come to love. The hair she once ran her fingers through, the hair he ruffled when he was nervous.

She was staring at him-silently willing him to turn. He always knew when she was looking. Always. This time was no different. He turned, hazel meeting green. The sight of his tousled hair blowing to one side, his round glasses perched haphazardly on the bridge of his slightly crooked nose and his thin polo t-shirt sticking to and framing his tall and lean body greeted her. She felt sparks- the sparks only one person in the whole world could give her.

James Potter was leaving, and she wasn't sure whether she could stop him.

* * *

The Leaky Cauldron was a small and dingy pub stowed away in one of London's busiest and lively squares. Drinks were cheap and more people left with a bruised eye or a broken elbow than those who left with a smile. Tom, the barman, was a toothless and balding gentleman who had long since given up on cleaning the bar's grimy floor and retreated to reading magazines in the store room during business hours.

As a result, it truly was a mystery as to why such an affluent and prominent socialite like Lily Evans would spend her time here, of all places.

As beautiful as she could be with her crimson locks and her emerald coloured eyes, currently she was in a right state. She had had one too many drinks and was currently taking up residence on a slightly unstable couch that was old enough to have seated thousands of girls like her before. She couldn't exactly describe what she was feeling at the moment. All she could see was red. And no, it wasn't because of her hair falling into her eyes and forming a curtain around her. The only coherent thoughts she could form all had one thing, or someone rather, in common- Chad.

That little bastard, Chad.

She had returned from Paris early and wanted to surprise her boyfriend of 4 years with some _cher chocolat français_ when she found him in her bed with her tart of a neighbour. And what was worse? The cheating bastard didn't even look sorry. As if he didn't understand and know the pain Lily was going through.

Well of course, he's got Darcy now, doesn't he? And who does she have? No one. Not even her mother. Violet Evans, business extraordinare, owner of the Evans&Co. business franchise and resident stone cold bitch of the Evans household. When Lily called her on the phone to cry over Chad, she had expected some sort of support. And she sure got that- except her mum had decided to support Chad's cheating arse instead. She got crap from her mum about how Lily's inability to satisfy Chad's needs was what led to him cheating. Because really, it was her fault that the man she was head-over-heels in love with had cheated on her with her childhood best friend, isn't it?

So she ran away. She needed an escape. And the Leaky Cauldron gave her the peace and obscurity she longed for.

She was stirring the contents of her 7th martini when she felt the other end of the sofa sink with new added weight. She swore. If it was Chad she swore she'd break her glass on his head. She turned towards her new company-If it was him she swore she'd knee him in the area where the sun don't shine- when she came up close with a man that was decidedly not Chad.

Or was that Chad?

That may have just been the tequila surging through her veins speaking but she was almost sure that this man wasn't Chad.

He was _much_ more attractive.

With his soot-black messy hair standing a foot above his very attractive head which was conveniently resting atop his very attractive neck which was sitting on his very attractive body. He had a slightly long nose with tan and clear skin. His eyes were quite possibly the most beautiful thing Lily saw. They were hazel with specks of gold and green. Lily had a new favourite colour.

Her stomach was doing somersaults in her body by just looking at this man- which was ridiculous seeing as she didn't even know him.

She could really do with company now, she thought. Well, she'd prefer _more_ than just friendly companionship but she had just met the man. And he seemed interested enough if his staring was any sign to go by. And he just happened to be a _very_ handsome individual. And at this point, Lily didn't really care who her company was.

She was going to talk to him. She was going to talk to him and she was going to be smooth and all nonchalant about it. She was going to be sophisticated and classy about it. She was going to be subtle. Yes, very very subtle. So naturally, the first thing she said when she opened her mouth wasn't any of those things.

"Wanna buy me a drink?".

Bugger.

Did she really just say that?

Did she, Lily Evans, heir to the Evans&Co business and elite socialite, just say that to the stranger's face? Well, upon second inspection, he did seem kind of familiar. Maybe that was just the alcohol speaking. Maybe she saw him on a Vogue cover. He could certainly pass off for a Vogue model.

He sputtered, his previously suave expression sliding off. "Buy you a drink?" he asked, confused. "I mean, I get that I'm a very handsome individual and I am very used to offers like yours but damn, I never thought I'd see the day _you'd_ ask _me_ out" he smirked.

She frowned.

What?

Well, if he was going to flirt with her she was going to do it right back at him. Go big or go home, wasn't it?

"Very humble aren't you? Well, I don't know why you'd be so surprised. I am rather aggressive and bold, if you get what I mean" she answered, with a wink of her own.

"Damn Evans, you really have changed, huh? Never thought I'd live to see the day you'd flirt with me. Even though, you know, we're both absolutely wasted".

Evans? Wasn't that her name? What was he doing knowing and saying her name? She didn't know him. She knew she was blowing up, but she never thought guys like him would know her.

"Evans? I'm positive that's me. How'd you know me, Mr Stranger?" she giggled. She was woozy. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her questioningly. "I must say, Evans, I am very offended! How could you forget this face? I'd have thought you of all people would remember me" he winked.

Huh? Who the hell was he?

"Well, I'm sorry Stranger, but I don't know you. You mind telling me? I need to know whether you're going to knick my wallet and run away or buy me a drink" Lily said. He sighed while taking out a pair of thin and round glasses.

Wait.

She swore she knew those glasses from somewhere.

He rubbed them on his white v-neck, bringing it to his face and setting it on the bridge of his nose.

She gasped.

The glasses had done it. She'd recognize that face anywhere.

"Oh silly Lily. Grown so old already? It's James. James Potter. Ring a bell?"

How could she be so utterly stupid? How could she have not realised it was him?

She had been flirting and checking out James sodding Potter the whole time and the stupid git just let her; knowing full well she was completely and utterly wasted.

Really, it was his fault. You know, even though she could smell the tequila on his breath very strongly.

"Oh my god. You're James Potter. You're James bloody Potter" she breathed.

"I must say Evans, I never thought I'd see you down more than just 2 shots. You were such a lightweight back in the day" he smirked.

James Potter, son of Charlus Potter and heir to Potter Industries-which coincidentally, the company that had nearly put Lily's mum out of business. The Potters, according to Lily's mum, were the most conceited and arrogant family to live. They had no ethics and would do anything in the pursuit for money and power. They had even tried to buy Evans&Co! They had no class and were the sworn enemies of the Evans. She had grown up listening to her mum go on about how every person who came from the Potter family was rotten to the core. And she believed her mum. She had the misfortune to have attended school with the youngest member of the Potter family, James Potter, and it was safe to say he perfectly embodied Mrs Evans' view on the Potters. He was as arrogant as the next person and for some reason, was obsessed with Lily in school. Every school memory of hers after 5th Year was tainted with him, and she hated it. Sure, he helped the younger students when they were lost and he supported and loved all his friends as best as he could- but he was still a bad person, wasn't he? He was a Potter. He obviously had not changed.

Well, not _personality_ wise.

As much as it pained her to say it, he had definitely changed in the, ahem, physical area.

"Potter? I can't bloody believe this. First my boyfriend cheats on me, then my mother blames me for being cheated on and now I have to deal with you" she muttered darkly. "Look, it's been a long time but I'm really not in the mood to talk to you. I think you'd do best if you just backed off, ok? I'm not gonna deal with your crap today. Especially not today" Lily said while looking him straight in the eye. It was too much. She couldn't handle it. Potter always loved getting under her skin in school and she was not going to take that from him today.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa Evans, slow down there, eh? Who said I was here to annoy you? You looked sad, so I came to try and cheer you up" he said, while running a hand through his hair.

Oh.

He still did that. What a surprise.

"You aren't here to piss me off? I'm not stupid, Potter. That's all you did in school" Lily remarked.

"Lily, I swear I came here to cheer you up. Only that. I swear on my mother's grave. You looked like you needed a shoulder to cry one and I've got a rather fit one to help with that. You wanna talk about it?" he asked, staring at her.

She paused.

Here was James Potter, heir to her mum's rival company, asking whether she wanted to bore him with her sad life story.

Why?What reason did he have for letting Lily cry to him? Was she really going to pour her heart out to him?

"OK Potter, ok. I'll tell you but ONLY because I'm lonely and in desperate need for attention". Apparently she was going to do exactly that. "I'm all ears, Evans."he smiled at her. A real genuine smile. She never truly did appreciate his smile.

"My boyfriend, Chad, cheated on me. With my fucking neighbour. I came home early from my trip to France to surprise him when I found him in my bed with Darcy. I mean can you even believe it? My neighbour, who's like 10 yours younger than me by the way, was secretly shagging my boyfriend behind my back! And to think, I wanted to spend my entire life with him. And you know what happened after that? Yeah, it gets worse. I told my mum about Chad and his unfaithful arse and do you know what she said? Do you have any fucking clue? She told me quote "Lily darling, Chad is a wonderful boy. Did you perhaps do something to him? Something that may have provoked this? I really wouldn't put that past you, dear. Like what the fuck? My own mother basically told me that it was my fault my prat of a boyfriend cheated on me." she sighed.

He was still staring intently at her. He was a great listener. She had to give him credit for that, at least.

"You know what, Potter? I think it really is my fault. Of course he'd leave me for someone like Darcy. She's taller, skinnier and prettier. Isn't that the only things guys look for in girls? It's my bloody problem. My stupid job doesn't even let me have any me-time. Maybe I should stop working and actually get my shit together…" Lily hesitated.

Potter continued to stare at her, a certain look in his eyes. Lily couldn't place what it was.

He slowly reached out to take her hand. His hand fit perfectly around hers.

"Lily, don't beat yourself up over this Chad bloke. If he cheated on you, he's the one that lost. If he picked Darcy over you, the bloke's got something seriously wrong with him. You deserve the world, Lily Evans, and if he can't give you that, he isn't the one for you" Potter told her.

She stared at him.

Her stomach was now a full-on war zone, and she hadn't the slightest clue as to why. Maybe it was the warmth of his hand around hers. Maybe it was the way his hair stood on his head and shadowed his face. Maybe it was his eyes, his beautiful eyes, taking her in. His pink lips were parted, and she caught herself gaze down at them momentarily. They were close, so close. She could count the number of eyelashes he had. He was that close. He was what she needed to forget. The thrill of physically being with someone she knew she could never have was exactly what she needed to escape.

James Potter was the perfect guy for just that- a druken one-time thing. She wasn't ever going to see him again.

"You really are the most beautiful girl I've met, Lily" he whispered.

She lifted her hand to trace his strong jaw. He really was the most attractive person she'd seen.

So she leaned in and met his lips halfway.

His lips pressed against her own softly, but firmly and really. She had no idea why it had taken them more than 6 years to do this. It was as if his lips were made to fit around hers. They moved in perfect harmony, his hands slipping down to her waist and pulling her body flush against his. She twisted her head, deepening the kiss while fisting her hand in his shirt. Her other hand took the opportunity to run her fingers through his hair. It was soft. She leaned into him harder. Potter then slowly stood up and slipped her out of her leather jacket. She broke the kiss, leaning her forehead on his-which proved to be quite the problem seeing as he was at least a foot taller than her.

"You think you could give me the world, Potter?" she whispered, her breath fanning out on his face.

"Just give me a chance, Evans. Just a chance" he breathed before leaning in again and capturing her lips in another mind-blowing kiss.

The events that followed were a blur for Lily. All she could think and feel was James and _James_ and oh god, why hadn't they done this before? She remembered stumbling into his apartment, or was it her apartment? And just the feeling of James on her body and James' hands exploring her body. She remembered him laying her down onto a bed and just feeling _James_ all over her. She had to keep reminding herself he was a one-time thing and she was never going to see him.

She was kissing James Potter as if her life depended on it- and she was far too deep in with James to bring herself to stop.

* * *

Alright alright alright alright! First chapter! So in case you haven't noticed, I seem to be getting the hang of this website! I finally edited the first chapter to include some halfway decent paragraphing (it was really atrocious before this) and now with the aid of my trusty sidekick YouTube, I've finally found out how to edit my story! Well anyways this is my first ever fic and it's sort of loosely based off of Gossip Girl ( I really don't know how much of it though I haven't watched the show) and I'm hoping I finish it quickly! Make sure to check out my other fic called Worth Dying For! Rate and Review to make this gal happy!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note:

Hey guys! I had meant to add in this note at the beginning of the first chapter but it somehow slipped my mind. Anyways, this is my first fic and I'd appreciate constructive feedback! Most of the characters in this story belong to J.K Rowling. I'd also love to thank everyone who's favourited, followed or reviewed Kara Sevda! It means a lot and I'm so glad that there are people who like the story!

Schak: Hey! Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! My paragraphing is a huge issue and I've tried and paragraphed it (with the help of my amazing beta). And yeah, looking back on it Chapter 1 doesn't really portray James in a good light :( So i did try and justify him (I have no shame) in Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it!

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The office itself was rather nice and elegant. With its high ceilings, arched windows and mahogany interior, the room exuded a sense of class and tranquility. However, the man pacing the room was far from peaceful.

James was positive there was some sort of creature going wild on a set of drums in his head. His mind was racing a mile a minute and he felt like he was going to topple over any minute. His recollection of the night before was hazy and blurry. Bits and pieces here and there.

There were only 2 things he could remember with some sort of affirmation- alcohol and Lily Evans. And god forbid him ever experiment with that combination again. He was stupid-really bloody stupid. He knew he had an almost negligible tolerance for alcohol and he also knew that he tended to get, ahem, affectionate, when under the influence of alcohol.

That's why when his eyes narrowed in on the unmistakable person of Lily Evans he knew he was doomed from the beginning. He didn't mean for his eyes to single her out from the crowd thronging the pub. He also certainly didn't mean for his eyes to continue roaming her body up and down. But really, he couldn't help himself. Or maybe that was just the alcohol speaking. But was he really going to look away from the girl who frequented his dreams back when he was in school? Even occasionally appear in his dreams now? And was he really going to avoid looking at her after 6 years of not seeing or talking to her? He wouldn't have looked away then, and he most definitely wasn't looking away now-because bloody hell. He could barely recognize the girl with hot pink braces and pigtails he met at 11 in the woman he saw now. She had changed. And he isn't sure whether he likes how much she's changed.

She sat on a plush sofa, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a crumpled Liverpool jersey. Her deep red hair, which he had grown accustomed to seeing in a low ponytail, was let loose in thick, wavy locks that were currently plastered to her face. Her stunning emerald green eyes occupied itself by staring deeply into the contents of what appeared to be a martini.

She was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, her shoulders quivering. She looked beautiful. But even from his seat James could tell she was unhappy. He was used to seeing a happy or angry Lily, but not an unhappy one. He even thought he saw her shed a couple of tears.

Now, James was nothing less than a gentleman. If he saw grieving woman nearby with no company, he thought it as his personal duty to comfort and console the woman. The fact that the said apparently grieving woman was Lily Evans did nothing to throw him off. So, with the sole purpose of comforting her and if he was lucky, catching up with her, James made his way over to her sofa. He had already prepared exactly what he was going to say- James was talented like that.

But the minute she looked at him and her piercing emerald eyes looked into his, all the words he had prepared had gone. Just like that. She had always had this impact on him, James reflected. But after 6 whole years of absolutely no contact from her he would have expected to not have felt that familiar churning in his stomach. But still, being the gentleman his mum raised him to be, James didn't act on his impulses. He stayed perfectly civil and appropriate, something the bucket loads of alcohol in his system made very difficult. But when she spilled her whole heart to him, to him, of all people, James could no longer sit there and be just polite to Lily. Not when she was obviously beating herself up over something that wasn't even remotely her fault. He comforted her and whispered things to her his sober self wouldn't have ever dreamt of.

At this point James felt he ought to have received some sort of award for all his self control. But then she did that and looked at his lips and really, he didn't intend on doing anything but talk to her but then she did that and the alcohol in James' body started taking over him and suddenly, just like that, he was kissing her. And really, he couldn't stop himself once he started. So one thing led to another and the following day, he woke up to a throbbing headache and his empty bed. And he hated himself for that.

The first time he sees the woman of his teenage dreams in 6 years he sleeps with her- while she was drunk. Granted, he had been drunk as hell as well but he still couldn't help thinking Lily would hate him for sleeping with her when she was obviously in no right mind to do so. But no, he wouldn't botch it up this time. The gods above were kind enough to give him a second chance- oh yes, he totally thought this was a sign from the above to give James a shot with Lily, to be with her and he sure as hell wasn't going to be reckless about it. Which is why it was so important for James to somehow contact her. She didn't give him her number and he practically had absolutely no way to talk to her, to explain himself. He did contemplate the idea of using social media to contact her- but for some reason he felt the need to explain himself verbally rather than over text. After all, his mum did raise a gentleman. But he did happen to have an entire company at his disposal and he did have an assistant. Ah, perks of being an extremely talented and self-made business man. Or being the only child of his father's. Same difference.

He sat down in his swivel chair and rolled out into the main office. Very stealthily, mind you. He waved to a bunch of people and rolled all the way to the corner square of work compartments. He jumped out of the chair, adjusted his glasses and peered over the nearest glass panel.

"Hey Remus, my man! My hands down best mate in the entire world! My-"

"What do you want, James?" Remus replied, looking up at his best mate's face.

Remus Lupin, aged 24, Head of the human resources branch of Potter Industries and unfortunate best mate of James Potter.

"Gasp Remus! Why would you think so lowly of me? I can't have simply wanted to visit the light of my life at noon? I am offended, Mr Lupin!" James huffed.

"James, I've known you for 13 years and I know for a fact that the only time you actually greet me with my given name like a normal person is when you want something" Remus answered, rolling his eyes.

"I knew I befriended you for a reason, you observant bastard" James replied, ruffling Remus' hair.

"Spit it out Potter I've got work"

"You kiss your mother with that mouth, Remus Lupin? Tsk tsk. Anyways, yeah I need a favour. Do you incidentally happen to have Lily's number? Like Lily from our school?" James asked, attempting to appear casual by inspecting his nails and checking his watch.

"Evans? Why would you want her number? As far as I know you haven't seen her since graduation." Remus replied with interest.

"Yeah, that is until yesterday" James mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"Doesn't matter. Ok Moony just give me your opinion. So say, hypothetically, that this extremely charming and handsome bloke meets this girl he hasn't seen in maybe, I don't know, 6ish years? And both of them are really, really drunk and the girl's crying and the guy, being the selfless knight he is, goes over to comfort her. But then they're really drunk, and by that I mean really, extremely, piss drunk, and end up, um, getting it on? The bloke's interested in her and thinks they have some sort of connection but the next day, the bird leaves without so much as a note. Would it be, um, appropriate for the guy to get her number and call her to talk about what happened?" James rambled.

At this point Remus' mouth is wide open with his eyes threatening to roll out of their sockets.

"You fucking slept with Evans? Lily sodding Evans?!" Remus barked.

"I said hypothetically, I said hypothetically!"

Remus sighed, rubbing the crease between his eyebrows. He knew James was reckless and tended to act before thinking but this? Of all people Lily Evans? The Lily he knew wanted nothing to do with James 6 years ago?

"James, mate, what do you want me to say? You know this isn't a good idea. You don't need her breaking your heart again." Remus told James.

"I know, but, I feel like this is some kind of sign, you know? I mean think about it, Remus! For 6 long years, I struggle with finding the one and then BAM! Out of nowhere I see Lily Evans and we end up knocking boots! This is a sign Remus, I can feel it!" James proclaimed.

"I thought you didn't believe in that psychic 'batshit'?" Remus asked pointedly, cocking an eyebrow.

"All's fair in love and war, Moony. All's fair in love and war" James said, wearing a stupid smile.

Remus forgot what a stupid moron James became when he was lovesick- which incidentally only happened when Lily Evans was concerned.

"Ok, so say you do want to talk to her. How do you plan to do that without her contact information?"

"Ah you clever bloke that's where you are concerned. You're head of human resources. Help me find her number?" James asked, battering his eyelashes and pouting his lips.

"And by 'find' you really mean stalk, right?"

"You said it, I didn't! So will you do it, Moony?" James asked Remus, his tone suddenly becoming more serious.

"If it means you'll stop harassing me about your love life then yes, I'll help you" Remus grumbled.

"Oh mate thank you so much I owe you! I'll make sure I mention you in my speech at our wedding!"

"James now please don't get ahead of yourself. I don't like this one bit and seeing as I'm usually an excellent judge of character, I don't think she'd appreciate it either. Especially not since when you did-"

"Nope Moony, you're not dampening my spirit! I'm as happy as Algernon when he catches a rat there is absolutely nothing you can do to make me sad! You the man, Remus. You really are and I really hope there's someone out there who isn't entirely sane and wouldn't mind snogging you! Goodbye good sir!" James cheered while simultaneously tripping up on Mckinnon's computer and falling flat on his face. Remus almost got worried when James sprang right back up and held up two thumbs up at Remus. He really was an idiot- and Remus adored that about him.

* * *

So lo, that's the second chapter. It's a bit shorter than the 1st but I've got some ideas for chapter 3 and I'm on my holidays so you can expect the third chapter up soon! I also had an idea for a oneshot and I'm probably going to try and upload that one first. Anyways hope you enjoyed Chapter 2 and for all of you who live for some Sirius, you won't be disappointed in Chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay so this chapter's quite short in comparison to the first 2 which is really gross because I haven't updated in so long. But I have a very good reason! I've been binge watching The Office and oh my god it's so good I literally cannot stop. You should totally watch the show! Anyways, hope you enjoy this Chapter! I loved writing Marlene because she's literally the female version of Sirius. Anyways, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! Enjoy!

* * *

"Marlene, I did something really bad"

"Well hello to you too, Lily! I must say, lovely opening line there! It's not as if you haven't called your best mate in- what was it? A week? Yeah, 1 whole week!"

Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon went way, _way_ back. They were best mates even before they could say each other's names. You couldn't find one without the other. And now 20 years later their friendship was even stronger- if that was even possible.

"Oh stuff it, Mar. Don't guilt trip me. You know how mental Mum gets about the company. Besides, I called you to help me"

"Ah now we are talking? Finally decide to let me hook you up with Benny from work, eh? I know he looks like he cries during sex but he isn't that gross. That is if you're OK with men who live in their mum's basements"

Lily would have given anything to throttle Marlene right there and then. She _knew_ Lily hated Benny.

"I said I needed help I didn't say I was despairingly lonely with no human contact"

"Oh but Lily! When Benny meets such a charming bird as yourself he'll _only_ be picking his bogeys! None of that picking and eating business he so very charmingly engages in at work! Surely that's a catch?"

Lily could almost _hear_ Marlene's smirk through the phone.

"Well you can tell Benny that he can stick those bogeys right up his-"

"Ah Lilykins, I joke, I joke. Anyways, what do you actually need my help for?" Marlene asked.

Ah. Her problem. Actually problem was probably far too much of an understatement. Her current situation ran more along the lines of absolutely a complete and utter disaster. Like tsunami kind of disaster. She was really _really_ fucked.

"Mar, I did something really stupid and really, _really_ bad."

"Okay Lily you do realise that your bad isn't my bad, right? Hell, it isn't even normal people kind of bad. You really need to be more specific."

"Oh you're just being over dramatic now". She was being dramatic now, right? Lily wasn't _that_ much of a goodie-two-shoes. Was she?

"You nearly burst into tears when you couldn't finish that crossword puzzle within the time limit Lily"

So it seemed that she was.

"It had an average find of 21 words and I only got 17!"

"Semantics, semantics. Anyways, so is this bad like _i-accidentally-added-too-much-food-into-my-fishbowl-today_ bad or like _i-am-currently-harbouring-a-known-criminal-who's-killed-700-people-in-my-basement_ kinda bad?"

"Worse!"

"Lily, what in God's name could you have done that's worse than harbouring a mass murderer in your basement?"

"But if I tell you you're going to laugh at me!"

"I swear to god if you don't spit it out now I will come all the way there and throw your stupid crossword book at your bitchass"

"That's like 700 pages!"

"I know and if you don't tell me I'll buy the second volume and throw that at you as well and burn it before you can use it just to spite you"

" _Isleptwithjamespotter!"_

Dead silence. Absolute silence. You could almost hear the blood rushing to Lily's face. It stayed silent for about a minute. Then all of a sudden loud and high laughing. Her best mate of 20 or something years was laughing at her. Laughing at her without any inhibitions of any sort. Lily wasn't aware she was best friends with a cow.

"Oh my God Lily you absolute moron!" Marlene cackled.

"See I knew you'd laugh at me that's why I didn't tell you!" Lily sniffed.

"Of fucking course I'm gonna laugh at you! This is James Potter we're talking about again, right?"

"Correct"

"Then why the bloody hell would you even think I'd not laugh at you?" Marlene cackled while snorting at the same time somehow.

Lily banged her head on her marble kitchen countertop. She should have known that Marlene wasn't going to help her. She should have called Mary instead. At least she wasn't such a prune. At least not completely.

"So, how was it?"

"Mar!"

"Is he still fit? He isn't engaged or anything right? Oh Lily he didn't have a ring or anything?"

"No of course not! I'm not a tart! Not sober, not drunk!" she snapped.

Another pause.

"So you were drunk?"

"Yeah and I would have told you earlier if you had let me talk!"

"Oh come off it. We've got a more pressing issue here, Lils. Now, does he remember?"

"Er, yeah. Definitely"

"Why, did he call you?"

"Yeah and he texted. I don't even know how he got my number"

"Did you reply?"

Pfft. What an amatuer. She never did this but even Lily knew that you should never actively talk to anyone who you've just hooked up with- especially not if you didn't want to ever embarrass yourself. And besides, this was James Potter. Sure, she had had a _spectacular_ night with him that definitely helped her get over Chad. And sure some part of her, the hopeless romantic part of her, wanted _something_ to happen there between the two of them. But that part of her was small. Negligible, even. James and her? Impossible. For God's sake he ran Potter Industries! Her company's nightmare! The company that nearly put them out of business! Surely nothing could happen between them. Right?

"Of course I did, Mar. Of fucking course I replied to all of his bloody 20 messages on whether I could catch lunch with him to talk about what happened or to at least reply to him. Of course I fucking did Mar! Why the bloody hell wouldn't I?"

"Wow do you kiss your mum with that mouth of yours? Or should I say kiss Potter with that mouth?"

"I will literally hang up and call Bogey Benny to tell him you like him"

"Okay okay let's not do anything too rash or disgusting. So what're you gonna do?"

"Well I actually called you up to ask you that, believe or not" Lily deadpanned.

"Well if I were you I'd just call him up for Round 2 if Potter's looks in school was anything to go by but I reckon you wouldn't really want to shag him again"

"Of course not!"

"Beats me then. If you actually want to talk to him I'd say you reply to his messages to meet up for coffee or whatever you nerds do. But if you don't want anything to do with him you should block him. Make sure he knows you don't want anything to do with him."

Wow.

Marlene was _actually_ making sense.

But what did Lily want to do? Did she want him to forget her or talk to him? On one hand, he did seem like a decent person now, if what she remembered of last night was anything to go by. And he did seem like nice company. Nice _platonic_ company. But did she really want to be friends with James Potter, of all people? The James Potter who had made her school days a living hell and made sure she didn't have a love life because of some silly obsession he had with her. The James Potter who had mindlessly followed Lily and asked her out relentlessly and embarrassed her in front of the whole school? Was she really going to give _him_ a chance?

Looks like she had a decision to make- and Lily, for the first time ever, knew exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

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